Mondelēz International is collaborating with longtime supplier Berry Global Inc to create recycled plastic packaging for its Philadelphia cream cheese range.
The brand will implement this packaging solution in the UK and Europe from 2022, representing an important step in the company’s commitment to reduce its impact on the environment and use 5% recycled content across all plastic packaging.
The packaging contains plastic material that has been recovered using advanced recycling technology from Berry’s partnership with SABIC earlier this year.
This announcement follows the recent transition to make Dairylea Lunchables and Dairylea Snackers packaging with 75% recycled PET plastic in the UK.
As the first major cream cheese brand to use recycled plastic in its packaging, the news comes ahead of the company’s plans for Philadelphia tubs across the UK to feature new recycling labelling information from this summer.
“It is vital to find and implement innovative, viable solutions to help stop plastic from getting into the environment, where it doesn’t belong,” said Vince Gruber, executive vice president and president, Europe for Mondelēz International.
“Philadelphia’s anticipated use of recycled material is an important step in limiting this waste while supporting a closed-loop system. As part of our mission to lead the future of snacking by offering the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way our iconic brands are committed to leveraging their scale to reduce our impact on the environment,” he continued.
“Our purpose is to empower people to snack right and a big part of this is making sure our snacks use less energy, water and waste – including integrating more sustainably sourced packaging materials,” said Chris McGrath, vice president and chief of impact, sustainability and wellbeing at Mondelēz.
“Innovations like advanced recycling help us find sustainable sources of previously hard-to-recycle material and support our journey towards zero net waste,” McGrath commented. “We also know that designing our packaging for recyclability alone won’t solve the problem of plastic waste, which is why we support public-private initiatives to increase recovery and recycling rates across the world.”